North Smithfield Town Council votes in favor of Nike boycott

Donita Naylor Journal Staff Writer donita22

Monday

Sep 17, 2018 at 9:08 PMSep 17, 2018 at 9:22 PM

NORTH SMITHFIELD — After more than an hour of public comment that focused on racism, free speech and equality, the North Smithfield Town Council on Monday voted 3-2 to request that all town departments refrain from buying Nike products.

Approval of the nonbinding resolution amounted to a symbolic rebuke of now-deposed NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other players who have kneeled during the national anthem at games to protest the killing of unarmed black men by the police nationwide — and Nike’s recent endorsement of their protests.

Earlier in the day, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island urged the council to reject the resolution.

“Just don’t do it,” the ACLU wrote the council.

The Town Council president, John Beauregard, submitted the resolution, which asks all town departments, including the School Department, to refrain from purchasing Nike products.

Beauregard said he is upset that Nike put Kaepernick on an ad praising the former football star — who has not been signed by any team since the end of the 2016 season — for sacrificing to stand up for his beliefs.

“This is not about kneeling during the anthem,” Beauregard said. “This is about the disrespect Kaepernick has shown toward the police. For Nike to sponsor him perpetuates this lie that police are racist, that they are out to keep people of color down.

“Over 100 cops were killed in the line of duty last year,” he said. “Some were accidents. They are the ones who have sacrificed everything. Colin lives a millionaire’s lifestyle.”

Beauregard, who was a state police trooper for 25 years, said this is a “very personal issue” for him.

The ACLU wrote, “Leaving aside any legal issues, passage of the resolution would display a tremendous insensitivity to the demonstrable racial inequality in our society that Kaepernick’s protest sought to highlight.

“At this point, we have heard of public officials in only two other states — Louisiana and Mississippi — seeking to boycott the purchase of Nike products in response to the company’s new ad campaign. We can only hope that a town as far away from the Mason-Dixon line as North Smithfield, Rhode Island will not be the third.”

North Smithfield Schools Supt. Michael St. Jean said his office wouldn’t take a stand on this matter until it went before the School Committee. He said he doesn’t know if the department buys Nike products.

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